Rail-joint attachment.



W. MAUGH & W. KOENIG.

RAIL JOINT ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION IILBD APR.7. 1914.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

E @m fi HIIIII== m WQgn & u Qh jnwmou I Q/Vilncmwo "such as will enable ot .actuated by the passin WILHELH IAUCH 5ND WILHELK KOENIG, 0F BBADDOCK, NORTH DAKOTA.

RAIL-JOINT ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

Application filed April 7, 1914. Serial H0. 830,201.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that we, \VILHELM MAUCH and \Vnamnm Konmo, citizens of the United States. rcsidin at Braddock, in the county of Emmons and State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joint Attachments; and we do hereby declare the following to be a in, clear, and exact descri tion of the inventlon,

liers skilled in the art to which is appertains to make and use the same. i

This invention relates broadly to new and useful improvements in railroad railattachments which are designed to automaticall tighten the bolts passing-through the rail web and the rail joints.

'TheprincipaI object of this invention contemplates the provision of a device of the type described which shall be automaticallyv of a train over the joint in question totig ten the bolts ofsaid 'oint.

J A further object is to provide means. whereby this device will be actuated by. the passing of a train over' the joint and will yet remain unoperated by the pasageof a hand car i An object of e ual importance to the fore going is to provi ea device of the character described which is constructed with such re;- gard to proportion, number and arrangement of arts as to be cheaplymauufactured, that wi be durable and 'eflie ient in operation, and can readily be applied toany standard or type of rail with a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

The above: and additional objects will be accomplished by such means as are illustrated in'theaccompanying drawings, de-' scribed in ,the following specification, and then more articularly pointed out in the. claims, ,whic are appended'heret'o and form a of this application.

ith reference to the drawings wherein we have illustrated the preferred embodimeat of our invention as reduced to practice. and throughout, the several views of which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a side elevation of our evice as up lied to a rail joint,'tbeparts of one of the burs being shown in section. Fig.2 is a transverse section taken on the plane indicated by the line 2-.2- of F trated and will hereinafter be described in that connection, it may nevertheless be applied with equal efliciency to the rails of a street railway or interurban line, or any other form of roadbed including rails and vehicles adapted to ride thereon. 1

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that our invention includes three main elements, namely the bur, which is attached to the protruding end of thebolt, the movable plate adapted to tighten the bur by means ereinafter to be disclosed, and the standards adapted to be set outside of the rails one on each side'ofthe rail joint and in proximity thereto. Taking these elements up in the order named it will be seen that the bar doe i'gnated as 1 is adapted to replace the ordi-- nary variety of nut and is similarly threaded on the protruding extremity of the bolt 2, which asses through the an 1e bars 3 and 4 and-t e rail web 5 of the which is designated enerally as 6.

This ur 1 seats against the ordinaryspring washer 7- and is constructed, as are the other portions of .our device, from any cheap and'durable metal such as cast iron or steel. 'It will be obvious therefore that I the only element now composing the common joint which it is necessary to throw away Wlll be the nut, all other parts of the same being retained in their usual positions.

Taking up the culiar construction of our burmore spec cally, it will be seen that it comprises an annular body portion 8 formed on either ed e of which are the en-- larged flanges 9 an 10 so that it ma be considered as substantially U-shap in cross section. In the center of the groove thus provided by the upstanding flanges 9 and 10 is countersunk a ratchet wheel 11 formed integral with the rest of the bur, as

is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

.An annular casing 12, of such proportions that it isadapted to lie within the groove 11- and between the flanges thereof, is movably mounted thereon. This casing.1 2

eludes an extended lever arm 13, as shown in Fig.1, and is also provided with a recess 14, in which the pawl 15 is pivotally mounted, as shown at 16. It will be obvious by a perusal of the parts shown in section in Fig. 1 that a downward movement of the lever extension 13 will result in the partial rotation of the bur 1, due to the engagement of the pawl 15 with the ratchet 11, and accordingly a tightening of the bur upon the bolt 2 is accomplished. This desireddownward movement of the lever extension above referred to is accomplished by means containedinthe second main element of our invention, namely the movable plate. This plate 17 is rectangular in cross section and of substantially the same proportions as shown in the drawings, being formed on its upper edge with a cut out portion, as shown in Fig. 2, which said portion serves a purpose to be hereinafter more fully described. This plate 17 is so positioned as regards the rails that its broader surface rests against the outer side of the rail head and that the line of the rail joint coincides in its own vertical center line, as shown in Fig. 1, and is provided at either extremity with the outstanding lugs 19, which are riveted or otherwise suitably secured, as shown at 20, to itself. The outer extremities of these lugs 19 are provided with enlarged washers 21, for a purpose to be afterward more clearly disclosed. The upper edge of this plate 17 is rounded oil at each terminal, as shown at 22, and its lower edge is provided with means 23' for forming a loose connection with the lever extension 13 of the casing 12.

We come now to the construction of the third and last main element of our invention which coacts with the other two elements, above described, in accomplishing the purposes already set forth. This element com- 1 prises mainly the standard 23 inclined toward the rail and has formed at its lower extremity the angular flange 24, by which it is adapted to be secured to the tie by any suitable means, such as 25. The lower extremity of this standard 23 is likewise formed with an angular portion 26 which extends parallel to the rail 6 and the plate 1.7 and is contiguous to the latter. The intermediate portion of this flange 26 is slotted, as shown at 27, and through these slots the lugs 19 are adapted to extend, the washers 21 being positioned outwardly of the flange 26 and being of comparatively a large diameter as regards the slot, serve, to keep the said lugs from becoming unseated. The lower portion of this slot contains an upstanding pin 28 which holds in place on the lower end of the slot suitable resilient means, such as the spring 29. The upper upper portion of the slot 27 as is clearly shown m Fig. 2.

It will be obvious that according to the foregoing description, the operation of our device is as follows: The flange of the car wheel in traveling along the rail comes in contact with the plate 17, such contact being rendered smooth and gradual by the rounded portions 22, and the weight of the car forces the plate 17 downwardly against the tension of the spring 29. This verti cally downward movement is translated through the lever extension 13 into a rotational movement which is imparted to the casing 12 in such manner that the pawl 15 is forced to actuate the ratchet 11 through a small arc, and this ratchet 11 being formed integral with the bur 1 as a whole, serves to tighten the bur upon the bolt 2 and forces it against the spring washer 7, thus accomplishing the purpose desired.

It will be noted the cut out portion 18 at the upper edge of the plate 17 is so formed that in the event. of. a hand car being used upon the track the narrower flange of the car wheels will not engage the upper edge of the plate 17 and the device will accordingly not be actuated. This is done for the reason that a hand car would not have sufiicient weight to overcome the tension of the spring 29 and would accordingly be derailed.

While in the fore oing we have illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification such combination and arrangement of elements as constitute the preferred embodiment of our invention, we desire to emphasize the fact that we may make such minor changes in the matters of proportion and degree, in later adaptations of our device as shall not alter the spirit of our invention as defined in the appended claims. 4

What we claim as new is:

1. In a device of the character described including a rail joint and bolts provided therefor, rotatable burs for the ends of said bolts, and means whereby said burs are retated by the passage of a train.

2. In a device of the character described including" a rail joint and bolts provided therefor, rotatable burs threaded on said bolts, lever arms connected to said burs, and means whereby said lever arms are depressed during the passage of a train- 3. In combination with a rail joint including angle bars and bolts provided therefor;-

of rotatable burs threaded on the'ends of said bolts, a ratchet wheel formed integral with said burs, rotatable casings mounted upon said burs, lever arms formed integral with said casings, and means whereb said lever arms are adapted to be dep I during the passage of a train.

4. In a device of the character described the combination with a rail 'oint and bolts provided therefor; of burs ded on the ends of said bolts, a movable plate adapted to be depressed during the passage of a train, and means whereby the depression of said movable plate tightens the burs upon the bolts.

5. In a device of the character described the combination with a rail joint and bolts provided therefor; of burs threaded upon the ends of said bolts, a movable p ate adapted to be depressed during the passage of a train, means whereby said depression of said movable-plate tightens the burs upon the bolts, and. resilient means for returning said movable plate to its normal position after the train has used.

6. In a device 0 the character described including a rail joint and bolts provided therefor, burs threaded upon the ends of said bolts, standards positioned in proximity to said rail joint, and a movable late car ried by said standards and adapted to tighten the burs upon the bolts during the passage of a train.

7. In a device of the character described including a rail joint and bolts provided therefor, rotatable bursfor the ends of said bolts, and means for tightening said burs thereupon by the passage of, a train.

8. The combination with a rail joint including angle bars and bolts provided therefor, of rotatable burs threaded upon said bolt, means for limiting the unthreadin of said burs and means for tightening said urs automatically by the passage of a train.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILHIELM MAUCH. WILHELM KOENIG. Witnesses:

H. W. ALLEN, J. A. Anmmswon'rn. 

